I never thought I’d be saying this, but it’s been nice the past few days not being on the road. Who would have thought? Things are back to normal around here. Back to work and daily routines. Las Cruces summer temperatures are here, and consistently over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m still catching up around the house from the trip. Lawn is well over a few inches high, house cooling system still needs tweaking, small leak under the kitchen sink, and other various needed improvements are nagging at me. Despite all of this, it’s nice to be home for a bit.
I gave the 6 some much needed TLC after the wild drive Tyson and I just completed. My 8,360 mile journey sure took a toll on my paint. I spent a good two hours giving it a good wash, and although visually it looks better, closer inspection reveals that it will need a full detail soon. I started by giving it a good pressure wash at a nearby car wash. This is conveniently located a few blocks from my house. 
Even though it’s just a rinse, I took a good 5-10 minutes going over everything to get the big chunks off.
Now back at the house for the actual wash. I only use my own soap and equipment when rubbing the paint. Doesn’t look much better, does it? Looks like I’m a slob and went without a wash for a few years.
Two-bucket method with cheap buckets and my foamer.
I gave a few good foam baths to loosen up as much grime as possible before introducing the sponge. After that, I went for it and cleaned until dusk.
The end result. There’s a lot of grit attached to the paint as it feels like sandpaper when running your hand over it. That will need a clay bar. Also, the paint sealer I applied in March seems to be completely gone. No water is beading, and the paint just feels “dry.” I definitely will have to set aside some time to give it a good recovery. The 6 still drives wonderfully, and I wouldn’t hesitate to take it on another trip worth multiple thousands of miles in desolate country.
Might take a while though as I don’t work well in the heat. Check out our forecast!
Despite the wear on the 6’s finish, I would take another trip like Alaska in a heartbeat. Just give me a few months to financially recoup. I thank you all again for coming along with us. See you all on the next drive!
Pawela's Garage 
You may have hot temperatures but very low humidity. I can beat that living in Miami. Heat index of 105 to 110 in summer. Humidity of 80 % and temps in low 90s. 😟
Okay, I’ll take my desert heat over that any day!
The 6 cleaned up like new! My clean-up wasn’t quite as thorough as yours. And I actually used the foam brush at the car wash (gasp!) on the bugs on the front end. Haha. Back to the grind we go! Reality bites…
Yours still looks factory fresh and good thing that Silver Moon hides any scars why obtained! 🙂
You guys went through a lot of work to clean up your cars. They look good! Almost like they didn’t do 8300 miles. Do you still have your decal?
Don’t know how I missed this comment! It sure was a lot of work. As of today (August 10) I’m still finding little grubby corners that I’ve been missing. Don’t even bother looking underneath…it’s quite scary! I actually got tired of the decal and was very happy to rip it off and toss in the trash. lol